All She Can Do
by Lily Hanson
Summary: It's safer from the sidelines, but not always easier.


_Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers Dino Charge. This story is fan-made._

Kendall picked her latest charger, the Dino Armour X, and handed it back to Chase. She had been inspecting it, running tests and analysing its power output since watching Chase lose control of it mid-battle. He was certain there was something wrong with the Charger, and was pressuring Kendall to figure it out quickly so he could help Tyler, Ivan and Shelby, who had been trapped underground. Kendall didn't need Chase to push her. She still had nightmares from her own experience being trapped underground. She worked as quickly and efficiently as possible, but still came up short. She shook her head as she handed the Charger back to Chase.

"There's nothing wrong with it," she told him. "It worked when you used it this morning, and according to the transmuter, it's still working. The only thing we haven't checked out is... well... you?"

"Me?" Chase asked. "You think I'm the problem?"

Kendall nodded her head before turning to Koda and Riley, "If it doesn't work with the black energem, we're going to have to use it with the green or blue energems. That's... that's all I can do."

She hated uttering those words. She hated even more that they were true. She had three Rangers clinging onto life, desperate for help, and all she could do was hope she came up with a solution in time. It was perhaps the hardest part about not being a Ranger. At times like these, she was useless.

To make matters worse, the alarm went off. It wasn't the alarm Kendall used to let her and the Rangers know when the monsters were attacking the city. Instead, this one was used to tell her the Rangers were in real trouble. If this alarm sounded, someone was dying. Kendall raced over to see what was going on and felt her stomach turn.

"They're running out of oxygen," she said. "They don't have long. Five minutes, maybe. Tops."

She turned to Koda and Riley, handing over the Dino Armour X Charger, "I don't know if this can work without the black energem but... it's all I've got."

Koda and Riley gave her a little nod, then raced out. They were followed by a disheartened Chase. Kendall watched them go, then turned to her screen. There was really no point in her watching how the rest of this mission unfolded. There was nothing she could do to help. It was all up to the Rangers. Kendall fell into her seat and put her head in her hands. Keeper walked up behind her, putting his hand on her back.

"You, more than anyone, know Chase can pull this off."

"Keeper, the Charger won't work for him," Kendall said. "And I don't have time to figure out why."

"This isn't your problem," Keeper told her.

"It's my charger. My weapon. My idea. It's not working and I don't know why. That bothers me, even more so now that we're about to lose three Rangers."

"Kendall..."

"I wish I could be out there, Keeper," Kendall said. "I could be out there, right now! Maybe the Rangers wouldn't be in this mess."

"You?"

"I'd trade places with all three of them," Kendall nodded. "If it's my technology that's letting them down, I should be the one who pays..."

"The Armour X worked this morning, did it not?" Keeper asked. Kendall nodded her head.

"Brilliantly," Kendall said. "Chase needed to control it a little more, but..."

"You have done your job. In fact, it's amazing you've yet to let the Rangers down. The problem isn't you or your technology."

"How can Chase be the problem?" Kendall asked.

"The energem bonds with the essence of a person," Keeper reminded her. "If something happens to alter that essence..."

"Then energem won't have the same power," Kendall nodded. "I know this, Keeper. I'm the one who figured that out for you."

"The energems also seek to bond with those who do good; who seek to help, rather than hurt their fellow man. All the Rangers currently chosen are brave, selfless individuals. However, they are still human. They still make mistakes."

"Chase..."

"Chase will have to correct his mistake before the energem deems him worthy of power," Keeper said. Once he has done that, your Charger will help him rescue your friends."

"He'll pull through," Kendall nodded, turning to the screen. She knew Keeper was right – he had to be.

But it wasn't enough. Building weapons, creating upgrades, helping the Rangers through battles: all those were great, but they always left her hoping. She hoped her technology would work. She hoped her ideas were right. She hoped she had given the Rangers enough information to make it out alive. If she messed up, she was safe in the lab. The Rangers were the ones in danger. Their lives depended on her, and right now, all she had to offer them was an _"it's all I can do"._

"Keeper, I..." Kendall turned around, but the alien wasn't there. Sighing, she got up and walked over to the crystal bed to stand before the holder for the purple energem. The other Rangers had been convinced it had bonded to her before they had to destroy the PlesioZord. Since then, she had imagined what it would be like to be a Ranger, to help her friends right on the battle field, instead of sending them off and hoping for the best.

But the bond had been broken. The energem was no longer hers. It was somewhere in the world, just waiting to be discovered again – and not necessarily by her.

She had missed her chance. All she would ever be able to do for the Rangers was hope.


End file.
